The horror drama TV series The Walking Dead has been commissioned for a fifth series in 2014.

It became the most watched non-sports show in American cable history earlier this month, with the season four premiere seen by 16.1 million viewers.

"We are very happy to make what has to be one of the most anti-climactic renewal announcements ever: The Walking Dead is renewed for a fifth season," said AMC president Charlie Collier. "On behalf of the incredible team on both sides of the camera, thank you to the fans and here's to more Dead."

Based on a long-running series of comics by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, the show is about the zombie aftermath of an epidemic that has wiped out most of the population in the south-east of the United States.

It stars British actor Andrew Lincoln as deputy sheriff Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma to discover America in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.